First foray into OpenVPN - Help needed

[CaptnDanLKW]

TL;DR Version - Or my attempt...

I'm Installing my old RT-AC68U at my elderly mom's house, want to be able to 'be on her network' from my house / network.

My network will is 192.168.1.x/24 (Assumption: The OpenVPN 'Client')
Her network will be 192.168.2.x/24 (Assumption: The OpenVPN 'Server')
I have a static IP address, she has dynamic (Will use DDNS Service)

I want to be able to reach her network from any client on my network
Ideally anytime / always up but with DDNS I'm OK with having to initiate the connection as needed.

Is this possible?

If so I'll keep this post going.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Is this possible?

Yes. Just try it and see how far you get. Keep it simple, go with the default options as much as possible.

The typical problem people come across when connecting two different networks (which is what you're doing) is firewall issues. For example, Windows Firewall will block most types of unsolicited traffic from non-local networks (e.g. the internet or VPNs). To get around this you can either change the firewall settings on each target device, or masquerade the incoming connections so that they appear to originate from the local network. Here is an example of how to masquerade a VPN connection.

EDIT: Just to add to my keep it simple comment; Why do you "need" to connect your entire LAN to her's? You've just doubled the level of complexity there compared to a single client connection. Is it just because "it sounds like a cool idea"? Does your smart TV or Xbox really need access to her network? If the reason you're connecting is for occasional "support" reasons then you'd be better off installing a VPN client on those devices you would be doing the support from IMHO. That makes life a lot simpler and you don't end up putting load on your router for no good reason.

 

[L&LD]

Search for the thread for 2 way VPN access.

 

[bbunge]

Best to use an OpenVPN client on one of your PC's. Not the client on your router. I have managed a couple of remote networks this way for several years. For your mom I would use the stock Asus firmware. One reason for this is that it will upgrade itself as needed. I would set her WAN DNS to Quad9 or 1.1.1.2/1.0.0.2